


God of the Sea

by VileWile



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Gen, no edit we die like real men, spamming ao3 with dumb snippets, yes Halt's at it again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27064096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VileWile/pseuds/VileWile
Summary: Gundar pokes fun at Halt's seasickness one time too many.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	God of the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> “Gundar, seeing Halt upright for the first time in two days, stumped up the deck to join them.  
> 'Back on your feet then?' he boomed cheerfully, with typical Skandian tact. 'By Gorlag's toenails, with all the heaving abd puking you've been doing, I thought you'd turn yourself inside out and puke yourself over the rail!'...  
> 'You do paint a pretty picture, Gundar,' Will said...  
> 'Thank you for your concern,' Halt said icily...  
> 'So, did you find Albert?' Gundar went on, unabashed. Even Halt was puzzled by this sudden apparent change of subject.  
> 'Albert?' he asked. Too late, he saw Gundar's grin widening and knew he'd stepped into a trap.  
> 'You seemed to be looking for him. You'd lean over the rail and call, 'Al-b-e-e-e-e-e-r-t!' I thought he might be some Araluen sea god.'  
> 'No, I didn't find him. Maybe I could look for him in your helmet.'  
> He reached out a hand. But Gundar had heard what happened when Skandians lent their helmets to the grim-faced Ranger while onboard ship...  
> 'No, I'm pretty sure he's not there,' he said hurriedly.”  
> -The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

It was a fine day, overall. All the more pity it was also considerably windy, particularly for someone who'd choose this exact day to board a ship.

Which, of course, he'd done. To his greatest regret.

 _Wolfwill_ jerked hard when her prow hit a valley between two waves. The ship had done so with an astounding frequency, and each time Halt's stomach lurched violently toward his chest. As if that alone wasn't bad enough, there was also something about the air, something persistent yet so slight he wondered if he was just imagining it–

It smelled like shrimps.

He felt Horace's sympathetic look on his back. He'd rather the young knight made fun of him. At least then he could fight back and feel marginally less miserable.

In the next moment he saw Gundar approaching him with a vicious grin plastered to his face, and he decided that being laughed at was not what he'd like to happen, after all. Not in the least.

"What a beautiful morning! Makes one feel alive, eh?"

To emphasize his exclamation, the skirl gave the smaller man a hearty pat on the back; however, the effect was not one that was likely to support his words, for it gave Halt a strong impression bordering on certainty he was about to die on the spot. It was only with a miraculous effort of will that he managed to hold down whatever remains of breakfast he still had in his system.

Unfortunately, Gundar was barely getting started.

"Have you talked to Albert already? Is he alright?" he asked in a mockingly innocent tone.

Which was taking it a bit too far.

The skirl either didn't notice or didn't care that the Ranger's knuckles went completely white on the railing. Maybe he would avoid that mistake if he knew that pushing Halt over the edge tended to end with being pushed over another edge in a much more literal sense.

But he didn't know that. Yet.

"Actually, he doesn't seem to be very responsive today," the Ranger answered through gritted teeth. "Would you like to ask him yourself? I'll gladly arrange you a meeting."

Gundar scrunched his forehead, trying to comprehend what the hell Halt meant by that. Unfortunately, before he could reach any conclusion he suddenly found himself watching the starboard of his ship from the outside, and the next moment everything went very wet.

♆

"Send Albert my regards!" Halt roared after the accelerating figure right before a spectacular splash of water rose from the sea. Somehow the sight instantly made him feel better. Satisfied, he brushed his hands together and turned with a wry smile back toward stunned Horace and a flock of utterly dumbfounded Skandians.

Then a thought struck him.

"He knows how to swim, doesn't he?"

**Author's Note:**

> If you're brave enough, everything can be a moat.
> 
> *No Skandians were harmed in the making of this fic.


End file.
